Completing the ITR12T: Current Tax Issues
Presenters : Phia van der Spuy CA(SA)
Overview
In September 2022, SARS announced that it would intensify its scrutiny of trusts after conducting a tax compliance review of trusts and beneficiaries. In February 2023, the eFiling system was improved to include beneficial owners' information. The first reporting date is set for September 2023.
It has become more critical that consistent, accurate, complete information is used in all forms of reporting to all stakeholders, including trust tax returns. Although financial statements are not (yet) required for trusts in terms of the Trust Property Control Act, sufficient information is needed to complete trust tax returns. In many instances, the tax practitioner responsible for preparing and submitting the trust tax return is the person last in line and has to make work of (in many instances) inadequate financial information to correctly complete the trust’s tax return. With the notion that a trust is the taxpayer of last resort, a unique approach should be taken with trusts, as other taxpayers may be liable for tax on income and capital gains generated in the trust. This video highlight the various aspects to consider for properly completing the trust’s tax return and new declaration requirements imposed on trustees about its beneficial owners.
Video content
- Why is a trust unique and cannot be compared to a company.
- New requirement and procedure to declare beneficial ownership to SARS.
- Who pays tax on trust income and capital gains?
- Various places trust-related information gets reported – make sure it is consistent and timeous.
- The trust’s (as taxpayer of last resort) tax return.
Competencies developed in this video
Informed about why a trust is a unique type of taxpayer, requiring you to record data in a specific manner to enable you to properly complete its tax return.
- Competent about where trust-related information is to be reported – make sure it is consistent and timeous.
- Updated with important information regarding the expansion of beneficial ownership info collection.
- Informed about the reason for IT3(t)’s and what it needs to balance with.
- Updated with an understanding of the “why” behind the data collected in the trusts’ (as taxpayer of last resort) tax return.